Adoption of mobile banking in Ghana

The rapid proliferation of mobile phones in Ghana has challenged banks to introduce mobile banking services rather than internet banking which is almost non-existent to many banking consumers in Ghana. The ubiquity, specificity and personalization characteristics of mobile phones allow its applications to have relative advantages in time and space over wired communication systems. In some countries that have low rates of adoption of personal computers and internet access, using mobile phones to access the internet is common place an alternative. Three years after the launch of the first mobile banking services in Ghana, the service is still in its developmental stages. Using the Technology Acceptance· Model (TAM) as a theoretical foundation, this study investigates factors that motivate adoption and usage behaviour of mobile banking in Ghana with the aim of finding strategies that banks can use to increase adoption of the service. The sample for the study was recruited from high income groups in Ghanaian society including small business owners, senior public servants and managers of financial institutions. The TAM was extended with the following additional constructs: perceived elitization, perceived credibility, sustained usefulness, facilitating conditions and sustained usage. The findings of this study indicate that sustained usefulness, perceived usefulness and perceived credibility are the most important beliefs that influence adoption behaviour of users and non-users of mobile banking in Ghana. Perceived credibility and facilitating conditions influence users\u27 attitude while sustained usage and perceived elitization motivate their intention behaviour. Although attitude does not determine users\u27 intentions, attitude of users has an inverse relationship with usage. The development of attitude and intentions that usually lead to usage behaviour in the TAM adoption processes are thus, not substantiated in respect of users. This suggests that the attitude of users of mobile banking in Ghana cannot be relied upon as a measure of their intention behaviour. The findings also suggest that any negative attitude of users will lead to a reduction in the continued use of mobile banking services in Ghana. Sustained usefulness is the major belief that motivates users\u27 usage and sustained usage behaviours although, intention marginally affects usage behaviour of users. Perceived usefulness and attitude are factors that influence non-users adoption behaviours. Perceived usefulness and sustained usefulness are the main factors that influence non-users attitude even though perceived credibility and perceived elitization play minor roles in shaping attitude of non-users. Non-users\u27 intentions are influenced mainly by their attitude. The findings suggest that the TAM may be appropriate in determining adoption behaviour of non-users of a new technology. Demographic factors such as age, educational background and banking experience influenced attitude and intentions of both users and non-users while gender, income and occupation significantly influenced usage and sustained usage behaviours. The study encourages banks to build strong relationships with existing customers to increase adoption